8 Pets You Don't Want to Bring Home

There are dog people. There are cat people. And then there is another breed of pet owner entirely — exotic-pet people.

Under the right circumstances (and with the right kind of animal), owning an exotic pet might be okay — but more often than not it’s bad for the animal, not to mention downright dangerous and unhealthy for the human. “Just because a certain animal is sold as a pet does not mean it should be,” says Gene Pavlovsky, DVM, chief of staff at Banfield Pet Hospital in Champaign, Ill.

Still, animal welfare and wildlife conservation group Born Free USA estimates that millions of reptiles, amphibians, and birds are traded annually for the pet market, while tens of thousands of big cats live in homes across the United States.

Here are eight types of pets you shouldn’t get.

Kinkajous

These small, rainforest-dwelling animals may be cute — but making one your pet is a bad idea. Kinkajous are wild animals that have been known to scratch, bite, and injure their owners.

In fact, when 16-year-old Jada Thurmond recently showed up to a hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., complaining of terrible stomach pain, severe headaches, and high fevers, her doctors had a hard time diagnosing her — until she fingered the culprit: Her aunt’s pet kinkajou, which bit her the day before.

“If it had been a dog or a cat or a raccoon they would have known exactly what to do, but they had never seen anything like this," Thurmond’s mother Miika Montgomery told the Associated Press. Soon enough, her doctors discovered that kinkajous carry the bacteria Kingella potus, which triggered Thurmond’s symptoms.

Beyond the health risk for humans, owning a kinkajou is bad for the animal, too. Replicating their rainforest environment can be quite difficult, and their strange surroundings can increase their risk for disease and ruin their quality of life.

Chimpanzees and Other Primates

Has Hollywood left you with the notion that a pet primate could be fun? In the real world, there are a number of reasons it’s not a good idea. These independent and highly intelligent creatures (from the chimpanzee to the capuchin) become bigger, stronger, and harder to manage over time, and they can carry everything from parasites and ringworm to life-threatening Ebola, Marburg, and rabies viruses.

“Chimpanzees are terribly dangerous and powerful animals, as proven in the recent tragic attack of Charla Nash by Travis the chimpanzee in Connecticut,” says Adam Roberts, executive vice president of Born Free USA. Nash was attacked and mauled so severely she needed a face transplant.

Though a number of states prohibit the possession of apes and monkeys as pets, such as California and Georgia, many Americans continue to bring them into their homes.

Turtles

Although slow-moving turtles seem like they’d be easy to care for, you should know this: Many harbor Salmonella, which can be particularly dangerous to young children, the elderly, and anyone with a compromised immune system.

In addition, many types of turtles are becoming threatened and endangered because of the destruction of their natural habitat. “Unfortunately, it may not be readily apparent whether or not a particular turtle species is endangered,” says Dr. Pavlovsky. “Lack of this knowledge and lack of regulations on commercial trading make it very difficult to decide which species are appropriate to keep as pets.”

Iguanas and Lizards

Iguanas and lizards pose a very real danger — 90 percent have Salmonella and shed it in their feces. (This is actually true of all reptiles).

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 93,000 people are sickened by Salmonella each year caused by exposure to reptiles.

Large Snakes

Think it would be cool to own a large snake like a python or boa constrictor? Think again.

These types of reptiles may seem manageable when small, but eventually they will grow too large to be in the hands of the average pet owner. Unfortunately, once people realize this, they either turn them over to a local humane society, draining resources from their underfunded budgets, or release them into the wild, where they often establish colonies and displace or kill local wild animals.

Seahorses

Always dreamed of having your very own seahorse? Potential buyers need to think about the larger implications. “Hundreds of thousands of seahorses are traded live from the Philippines, Indonesia, and elsewhere to consumer markets in the United States,” Roberts says. “Increasingly young animals are captured and traded, significantly and adversely impacting the wild population and its long-term viability.”

These exotic pets may pose little risk to humans, but they also offer little reward. “Have you ever watched a seahorse in an aquarium?” asks Pavlovsky. “The seahorse’s idea of fun is to hang on to a plant and not let go for as long as possible.”

Tigers and Other Large Cats

A scary cat-stat? Experts estimate there are more tigers in private hands in the United States today than there are in the wild. But that doesn’t make it a good idea.

“Having a tiger in your home or yard is a little like having a shark in your swimming pool,” says Pavlovsky. “You’re just asking to be eaten at some point.” Though tiger cubs are cute and cuddly, they are still wild animals that grow up to behave unpredictably and, on occasion, dangerously.

In fact, keeping any large cat, including lions, cougars, and leopards, shows nothing but poor judgment. Not only can they hurt people, but being kept in captivity is bad for the animal’s health. Almost all individual owners lack resources for the proper housing, feeding, medical care, and husbandry required to keep a large cat as a pet — and many are shocked by the high price tag associated with their care.

Wild Birds

You probably know plenty of people with pet canaries or parakeets, but there are some wild birds that should not be kept caged up in the kitchen. Though the birds may not be dangerous to humans, their trade is proving disastrous to their species’ survival. According to Born Free USA, nearly a third of parrot and cockatoo species around the world are threatened because of declining populations caused by the pet trade and habitat destruction.

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